August 5, 2015

Four Roses Private Barrels Part Two

Wine on 59 - Four Roses Barrel HW 32-4 DOBSF Barreled on July 30, 2003 Bottled on June 16th, 2014Nose: "Red Hots candies swimming in a mint julep!" Well this is the opposite of the last bottle. A very sharp nose with a lot of cinnamon - like cracking a handful of cinnamon sticks in half at once. Then there's the frontal spiciness, not the deep chipotle type of spicy, but an upfront dry cayenne pepper spicy. The mint tastes deeply muddled and hides behind all the sweet and spice. (with water) With water the mint comes to the fore, and some lovely richness and char make an appearance.

Palate: For such a bold nose, we get a very drinkable palate which is remarkably smooth for the monster proof on this one. Another dangerous drinker here. (with water) We liked what water did to the nose so much that we paid the most attention with about a teaspoon of water in a one ounce glass. There's more mint and a nice molasses bbq sauce thing going on on the tongue.

We definitely went back for another pour of this one, adding a little dollop of water right out of the gate, and letting the glass open up in the water and air while we sliced up a fresh juicy summer peach to accompany it. (Peaches and bourbon go amazingly well together if you haven't tried this!) It's a great whiskey balancing spice and heat and smoothness. This is a mighty enjoyable bottle, a very pleasant surprise coming from a local store with great taste in barrels. Nice job.